[Sca-cooks] Sca-cooks Digest, Vol 38, Issue 52

lilinah at earthlink.net lilinah at earthlink.net
Fri Jun 26 18:31:26 PDT 2009


Sandra Kisner wrote:
>Speaking of Le Menagier, there is yet another translation out (Gina Greco 
>and Christine Rose, 2009).  I've lost track of how many there are into 
>English and their degree of completeness.  I tried digging around in the 
>Florilegium, but didn't see an article similar to the one(s) that compare 
>Apicius translations.  Is there one, or do people here have strong 
>opinions?  All I have at home is an old photocopy of the Powers version.

Well, i've never seen the book, but here's a review from Amazon. Answers at least one of your questions:
 	
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Goodman's wife finally gets her due., May 19, 2009
By C. Muusers (Kortenhoef, Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)   

The 'Ménagier de Paris' has been edited and translated several times in the past. But for those that don't read French, there was just one translation, by Eileen Power (1928, reprinted in 2006), in archaic English and incomplete (of 380 recipes, only 153 are in that book). This is the first complete translation in English. In the introduction the editors concentrate on the whole book, not just the culinary recipes. This is refreshing, because the 'Ménagier' is more than just a cookbook, it is a complete guide to the behaviour and duties of the married woman from wealthy bourgeois circles in Paris around 1400. This focus is also apparent in the title, 'The Good WIFE's Guide'. However, if you DO want to cook the recipes you are practically on your own here. The ideal combination for that is this edition with Nicole Crossley-Holland's 'Living and Dining in Medieval Paris' (almost out of print, Amazon.co.uk still has it).

Another review mentions that "the authors are professors of English and French whose skills really complement each other in bringing this work to light."

Urtatim (that's err-tah-TEEM)



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